ABSTRACT
Micromachined contactless suspension (CS) is a comparatively recent concept. This has already attracted a great deal of attention giving rise to a new generation of micro machined or Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems inertial sensors as well as inertial multisensors. This chapter discusses a micro machined Dynamically Tuned Gyroscope (DTG) and accelerometer based on a CS and the last one with zero spring constant, respectively, as an alternative strategy for the further improvement of performances of micro machined inertial sensors based on the CS technology. The micro machined DTG consists of two rotors: an inner and an outer one. The inner rotor is located within an electromagnetic field and suspended there contactlessly at its equilibrium position. Both rotors are considered as rigid bodies. Thus, a CS with a zero spring constant proposed leads to, a dramatic increase to the static sensitivity of the inertial sensor and, a significant reduction of the steady-state error of the sensor in closed-loop operation.
